Chapter 1: A Television Screen to the Soul
April 11, Afternoon, Cloudy
To say that dream was strange was putting it mildly. When Yui found herself back on the train, seemingly not having actually left, she was very off-put. Despite the relaxing countryside scenery outside of her train car window, she felt an incredible sense of unease. What was that place? That... "Velvet Room"? It had to have been an incredibly vivid dream; after all, she had "fallen asleep" back in that place and woken up here on the train. And, considering nobody else in the train car had been panicking about her suddenly appearing out of nowhere, she warranted a guess that she never actually left. Placing her hand over her face, the young woman tried to piece together everything that had just happened.
After Yui gave her name, the man who called himself "Igor" suddenly materialized a strange deck of tarot cards onto the table between them, asking if she believed in fortune telling. She'd never really given it any thought; she had no reason to believe in it, yet also no reason to not. Still, Yui found herself once again unable to speak, and so the long-nosed man continued, telling her he was going to look into her future. A wave of his hand, and the cards spread out around the table, leaving a few before the rest disappeared.
Yui didn't know a thing about tarot cards, but thankfully Igor was able to explain as he flipped over the first card, revealing it to be "The Tower". In the upright position and representing the near future, it apparently foretold that a terrible catastrophe was awaiting her at her destination. Lovely, exactly what she wanted. As if transferring to a new school and town wasn't going to be stressful enough.
The second card he revealed was The Moon, in the upright position. As Igor explained, it represented hesitation and mystery, and that between those two cards, she would supposedly have to deal with a mystery as a result of some sort of tragic occurrence. What sort of tragedy would involve her in a mystery was beyond Yui's expectations, but perhaps it'd actually give her something to do in the small town. Of course, Igor wasn't finished as he turned over one final card...
"Hmm... The Hanged Man, in the reversed position," he said. "After your ordeals, it seems you will be forced to make sacrifices for the sake of progress, though stubborn selfishness will make it difficult... It may not be what you want, but if you wish to better yourself, it will be what you need." Sacrifices? Not what she wants, but what she needs? Did she really need to better herself? Yui's expression hardened slightly as she recalled those words... Maybe she really did want to improve herself. After all, she had no future planned out, no goal in life. As she was, she'd be forced to take up her family's business after all, and she didn't want that. She didn't want to turn out like them.
Putting that thought aside, she recalled the rest of her visit to that strange place, when Igor finally introduced the woman to his side. Her name was Margaret, and, as she herself stated, would also accompany Yui throughout her "journey". It was then that Igor bid the young woman farewell, and she felt drowsiness take over once more before awakening in the train car.
What exactly did all of that mean? It was too complicated and realistic to simply be a dream, but at the same time, that's all it could have been. It's not like her consciousness could've been spirited away to some strange, extradimensional space, right? And yet, despite logic demanding otherwise, a voice in the back of her head kept nagging at her, saying that it must have been real, and that she should take the warnings seriously. She'd never considered herself superstitious, but if things like this continually happened, she might just start believing.
However, snapping her out of her daze was the conductor announcing that they'd soon be arriving at Yasoinaba Station and that all passengers intending to disembark should gather their luggage. As that was indeed Yui's stop, the young woman stood and began to gather her things, preparing to get off. As she did, she finally took the time to look at the scenery outside of her window, somewhat amazed at the lack of buildings. It was hills and greenery as far as she could see, and to imagine a small town nestled in the middle of all of this seemed unusual for a girl who was Tokyo born-and-bred.
Stepping off the train onto the Yasoinaba Station platform didn't change Yui's opinion at all; looking out at her surroundings outside of the station revealed to her that there really was nothing here at all. A cursory look around also caused her attention to be drawn to a man and young girl, just as he was calling out to her.
"Hey! Over here!" He said, raising the free hand that wasn't carrying his coat. His appearance was grizzled and casual despite wearing a dress shirt and tie along with slacks, as his collar and tie were loose and his hair clearly only given a quick combing without too much attention to detail. "Boy, you've sure changed a lot over the years; your mom said you'd been dyeing your hair, but she didn't say it was purple. Plus, you're almost as tall as me!" The man gave an amused chuckle, and Yui quickly figured out who he was by his familiar attitude and mention of her mother.
"I take it that means you're my uncle," she said in response. She must've spoken rather coldly, because the girl who was at the man's side tried to slyly shuffle behind him.
"Yeah, though I'm not surprised you don't recognize me. It's been years since I've seen you, after all. I'm Ryotaro Dojima, and I'll be your guardian for the next year," he said. "Just so you know, I work with the Inaba Police Department, so I don't want you causing any trouble, all right?" Of course she was living with a cop for the next year. It all made sense, now. Her parents didn't have any trouble finding someone to watch her; they had thousands of people they could pay for that, after all. No, they wanted Dojima to straighten her out.
"Right," Yui said somewhat dryly. "Not like there'd be much trouble to cause in a little place like this." She doubted they even had real gangs here, the kind that would stab someone over an insult or two. That was the kind she was familiar with. If anything, she imagined the only problems they'd have here would be two-bit shoplifters or kids playing hooky.
"Well, you'd be surprised just how many troublemakers we have here," Dojima replied. "Ah, by the way, this is my daughter, Nanako. Go on, Nanako, say hello to your cousin." He gave a look to his daughter, who had been half-hiding behind her father until now, and Yui's attention being drawn to her must have startled her somewhat, because she gave a soft yelp of surprise and muttered out a greeting before hiding behind Dojima even more.
"Ahh, is she scaring you? Don't worry, she won't hurt you," he said. Nanako's reaction plus Dojima's statement caused Yui to sheepishly rub the back of her neck; she honestly didn't mean to intimidate the poor girl, but her cold aloofness was more of a reflexive response to dealing with policemen, off-duty or otherwise.
"Well, anyways, let's get going," Dojima said, turning back to Yui. "My car's over there." Motioning towards the small, nearby parking lot, he began to walk to his car, with Nanako following briskly behind. Yui began to likewise make her way to follow, but her attention was caught by a feminine voice calling out from behind her.
"Hey," the voice said, prompting Yui to turn around. "You dropped this." The voice belonged to another young woman with short, brown hair, gray eyes, and wearing a rather... eclectic outfit, involving a choker with a lock on it, a white dress shirt and black tie, black-and-red-striped, long, fingerless sleeves, a studded belt and plaid skirt, black-and-white striped stockings and checkered boots. In her hand was a piece of paper that had presumably fallen from Yui's pocket.
"Oh, thanks," Yui said in response, stepping forward to take the paper, which was the note she wrote for herself concerning Dojima's address. Good thing she didn't lose this, otherwise she'd likely be getting lost until she learned where the house was.
"Whatever," the girl said in reply. "All I did was pick it up." The girl said nothing else before turning to leave. Dojima called out to Yui, as well, waiting on her to join them at the detective's car. Placing the note back in her pocket, the young woman made her way over to the Dojimas, making their way into the small town, and Yui's new home for a year.
As the three drove through town, Yui began to notice that, even when more buildings began to come into view, there was never a point where she couldn't see the hills that surrounded Inaba. Even once they made their way to the central shopping district in order to stop for gas and give Nanako a bathroom break, she could still see them clearly when she stepped out of the car. And yet, she couldn't say it was a bad thing; the air was fresher, the noise was all but absent, and the greenery was more pleasant to look at than the neon lights and gray of the city. Her attention was pulled away from the scenery once Dojima finished speaking with the gas station attendant, who decided to strike up a conversation when he got to work filling up the car.
"Does it surprise a city girl to see how little there is out here?" He said. "There's so little to do, I'm sure you'll get bored fast. You'll either be hanging out with your friends or doing part-time jobs." Yui's expression didn't change from her usual aloof stoicism as she listened to him, giving a shrug as she responded.
"Eh, didn't do much more in the city, to be honest," she said. "Pretty much just hung out with my friends back home, too." Her reply brought a chuckle from the attendant as he finished filling up the car and put the pump back in place.
"Is that so? Sounds like you'll fit right in, then," he said. "Speaking of which, we're actually looking for part-time help right now. Give it some thought, will ya? They don't care if you're a student or not." The attendant gave a welcoming smile, before offering his hand over to Yui to shake. The young woman hesitated for a moment before deciding to give a lazy shake, before the attendant gave a wave, heading back into the station.
Coming out at roughly the same time was Nanako, who sheepishly looked p at Yui at she returned to the car. However, when Yui turned to look back at her, she suddenly felt her vision distort and a wave of nausea overcome her, forcing her to place her hand over her forehead and eyes as she swayed slightly. Thankfully, the feeling passed in only a few moments, though when she removed her hand, she found Nanako had inches closer, a look of concern on her face.
"Are you okay...?" She said. "Did you get carsick?" Yui figured she must've looked like she was about to pass out if even Nanako, who had so far been incredibly nervous around her, was voicing her concern. Though a little dizziness persisted, she seemed to be fine, now, briefly considering that she might be exhausted from the long train ride. Nanako's concern must've been enough to get her father's attention, as well, because he stepped over, the smell of cigarette smoke still lingering on his person.
"What's wrong? You feeling okay?" He said, concern likewise in his tone. "If you're tired, I can understand that; it must've been a long ride. Why not take a walk? The fresh air might do you some good. Just let me know when you're ready to go." Yui was about to protest, but decided otherwise. This would be a good opportunity to explore the shopping district, since it was likely she'd be spending a fair amount of time, here.
Exploring around, Yui took in the various shops that lined the street, noting each down in her memory. There was a small bookstore, a blacksmith, a tofu shop, a convenience store, and a variety of other shops further down the street. Taking a few minutes to take in the rustic atmosphere and scenery before making her way back to her uncle and cousin and driving off to their home, which was a somewhat small, yet cozy two-story home. And, for the next year, it was where she was going to be staying...
April 11, Evening, Rain
Sitting around a coffee table with canned drinks and store-bought lunches for dinner was a far cry from Yui's usual dinnertime meal. She was used to either eating in an alleyway with her gang or at a large, fancy table; in either case, her food was usually gourmet-cooked, though she did occasionally trade with one of her friends. After a brief toast to Yui's stay with the Dojimas, the detective began to chat with his niece.
"So, your mom and dad are busy as always, huh? Working overseas, again?" He said. "I know you're stuck here for a year, but I imagine they left you with babysitters a lot. Though, I imagine you're just about old enough to live on your own, aren't you?" Yui gave a quiet sigh as the topic of her parents was brought up; she'd been able to keep that out of her mind ever since she got off the train... Though, her uncle did have a point. She'd been held back in school the previous year, so she was already 18 as of earlier last month.
"Yeah, well, could be worse," Yui said. "It's a different locale than I'm used to, is all." Admittedly, she was already enjoying this place better than home. She had her doubts about this Inaba place, but so far, she was liking the quaint, homey feel to not only the town, but the Dojima residence. This was the first time she'd eaten with family in years, after all. Dojima smiled and nodded to Yui's reply, apparently glad she was willing to give living in the small town a try.
"Well, it's just me and Nanako here, so it'll be nice to have someone else around for a change," he said. "So long as you're here, you're part of the family, so make yourself at home." Yui couldn't help but pause and just look at Dojima for a few moments; the genuine hospitality was something she'd rarely felt, before, so it took her a few moments before she was able to give a silent nod in response, which prompted a small chuckle from him.
"You're deciding to go meek on me all of a sudden?" He said, a look of amusement on his face. "I'm beginning to question the legitimacy of your records; those Tokyo police must have pretty low standards." The teasing got the rise out of Yui her uncle was likely expecting, chuckling again as she gave a small snort and turned her attention to her food, a light blush on her cheeks; even Nanako seemed to find the scene funny, because she let out a small giggle as well, though the mirth was quickly interrupted by Dojima's cell phone going off.
"Ugh, who's calling at this hour...?" He said, before standing up and away from the table to answer. "...Dojima speaking. Mhm. Yeah? I see. So where is it? All right, I'm on my way. Looks like I made the right choice to skip the booze..." Ending the call, Dojima turned to Yui and Nanako, who were looking at him, waiting to hear the explanation.
"Sorry, but I gotta go take care of some business," he said. "Go ahead and eat without me. I don't know how late I'll be. Nanako, you help her out, okay?" The young girl gave a reluctant, verbal acknowledgement before Dojima made his way back to the door, and voicing his concern about the laundry, only for his daughter to confirm that she already brought it in. After he left, an awkward silence was left behind in the household, quickly broken by Nanako deciding to turn on the TV, the weather forecast coming to life on the television screen, revealing it was likely going to rain for the next few days.
"Let's eat," Nanako said quietly, picking up her chopsticks to start on her meal. As Yui did the same, she realized she felt somewhat guilty for scaring the girl earlier; perhaps the best way to rectify that would be to make conversation. However, the issue of finding a topic to speak about quickly reared its ugly head, leaving her silent for a few seconds before finally managing to come up with something.
"So, your dad..." Yui said. "He's a cop, right?" The older girl's question caught Nanako's attention easily enough, causing her to nod and give a quiet hum of acknowledgement, as she still had food in her mouth. Once she swallowed, she responded properly.
"Well, he... investigates things, like crime scenes," she said. "He's a detective." So, he wasn't a regular police officer, then. No wonder he got called away so suddenly, there must have been an emergency of some sort... Yui didn't expect a small, sleepy town like this to need someone like that, but she supposed that just meant she had too close-minded a view of this place. Perhaps it might be more exciting than she thought.
Just as she thought that, her attention was drawn to the TV again as the news came up, the reporters talking about a recent scandal involving a local anchorwoman and the city council secretary, Taro Namatame, who were allegedly having an affair. Well, that wasn't quite the excitement Yui was hoping for; gossip wasn't her thing, even if a number of her friends were constantly talking about celebrities or fads. Clearly Nanako thought the same, as she quickly changed the channel, just in time for a familiar commercial of the nationwide superstore, Junes, to come up, complete with their famous jingle, a jingle that Nanako gleefully sung along to before they continued their meal.
After eating, Yui helped clean up before heading up to the room that was now hers to use, according to Nanako. Boxes of her things sat against the wall and upon the couch; it was a subtle reminder that, for an entire year, she'd be living here. This was the, by comparison, small room that she'd be staying in, containing an unfamiliar desk with a coffee table, the aforementioned couch, a television, a small shelf, and a futon. Though she was somewhat tired from her trip, Yui began to sort through her boxes, removing what she felt was necessary before going to sleep, including her new school uniform... Yasogami High. Starting tomorrow, that was the high school she'd be attending. And, for the first time in years, she figured she may as well start attending regularly. After all, her uncle was a police detective, and he'd probably be on her about not skipping class.
April 11?, ?
Despite definitely going to bed, Yui once again found her consciousness returning and eyes opening in an unusual place, but this time, there was no inexplicable sense of relaxation. In fact what she saw before her as she got to her feet, was fog. Fog blanketing her surroundings and obscuring her view beyond maybe a meter or two. Rather than relaxation, unease settled into her heart. Looking behind her, she noticed that the strange walkway she seemed to be on ended abruptly, forcing her to either remain here or proceed onwards, and rather than hang around for whatever might live here, she decided to move forward.
Stepping carefully due to her limited vision, Yui began to walk, and the blocks that were the pathway she stepped on were occasionally awkwardly placed or tilted, forcing her to keep an eye on where she stepped, particularly with the fog. Once she made a fair bit of progress, however, a voice suddenly rang out, causing the young woman to turn in multiple directions, seeking the source of the voice.
"Do you seek the truth...?" The voice said. "If it's truth you desire, come and find me." Yui felt her body tense up as she sought the owner of the voice, suddenly coming face-to-face with a strangely-patterned wall of sorts that wasn't there before. In fact, it almost seemed as if the voice called out from beyond it. As she reached out to touch it, the wall revealed itself to be a kind of door, as it suddenly opened up, rotating from the inside out to allow Yui through. Stepping past cautiously, she heard the voice once more, from directly in front of her.
"So... You are the one pursuing me..." It said with a chuckle. "Try all you like." Focusing her attention on the direction of the voice, Yui could barely make out a figure in the distance, hazy though it was. Curious for answers, Yui hastily stepped forward, only for the figure to disappear as the fog seemed to thicken.
"Hmm, it seems that you can see a little, despite the fog," It said. "I see... Indeed, that is very interesting information. But, you will not catch me so easily... If what you seek is 'truth', then your search will be even harder. Everyone sees what they want to, and the fog only deepens..." Though Yui continued to frantically look for the mysterious person, she could feel her consciousness slipping once again. Try as she might, she couldn't stop herself from falling to one knee, then eventually completely to the ground as her body lost its strength.
"Will we meet again? At a place other than here... I look forward to it."
April 12, Early Morning, Rain
Yui found her consciousness stirred once again with the telltale sound of someone knocking on a door. A familiar voice called out that breakfast was ready, and as Yui gradually woke up, she realized it was Nanako's. As she replied back and prepared to get ready for school, she couldn't help but feel as though she had another odd dream, or perhaps a nightmare of sorts...
After a shower and donning her uniform, albeit with her favorite jacket over the blouse, Yui walked down the stairs to be greeted only by Nanako as she prepared breakfast; it was a relatively simple, if cliché, meal of eggs, breakfast sausages, and toast, but from all appearances she had cooked it by herself. A quick glance around confirmed Yui's thoughts that her uncle was nowhere to be found this morning before sitting down.
"...Do you do the cooking?" She asked her young cousin. The girl's expression turned to one of uncertainty, as if she was debating how to answer.
"I can toast bread," Nanako replied. "And cook sunny-side up eggs in the morning... Dad can't cook, so I buy dinner." That explained the store-bought food from last night; it wasn't that they were particularly poorly-off, they just couldn't prepare a proper meal. As they began their meal, another awkward silence filled the room, at least until Nanako decided to ask something of her cousin.
"...You're starting school today, right?" She said. "My school's on the way, so... Um... Let's go together." Yui certainly didn't expect the young girl to offer such a thing; perhaps she was already warming up to the older girl? She certainly hoped so; intimidating people who would likely bother her was one thing, but a kid wasn't someone she intended to scare, let alone one she'd be living with for the next year.
"Sure," Yui said with a nod. She would have attempted a comforting smile, but she was never good at faking expressions; her acting career was over before it even began, though the performing arts were never something that interested her, anyways. Nothing lost in that regard, really.
After breakfast, the two left the house, making sure to lock the front and sliding doors beforehand. With Nanako taking the lead, the two eventually ended up at what seemed to be some floodplains; though the two had to part ways there, the brunette told Yui that her path from there was simply to follow the road straight; she was clearly on the right path, at least, as she soon found herself walking the same path as a number of other students in front of and behind her... and one unlucky student who seemed to have trouble steering his bike while holding an umbrella, causing him to crash into a nearby telephone pole. Still, she figured if she was going to start "behaving", she'd need to make it on time, and so she didn't have time to help the poor sap, instead deciding to leave him be.
Once she arrived, Yui made her way to the faculty office, where she learned of her homeroom and teacher, one Kinshiro Morooka. Just by simply walking to the classroom with him, she could tell he was going to get on her nerves for the rest of the year, between his posture, his expression, and the tone of his voice. Once they arrived, she entered behind him and immediately she could tell her judgment was spot-on.
"Awright, shut yer traps! I'm Kinshiro Morooka, your homeroom teacher from today forward!" he said. " First things first! Just 'cause it's spring doesn't mean you can swoon over each other like love-struck baboons! Long as I'm around, you students are going to be pure as the driven snow!" Not even one minute in and his voice was already grating on Yui's ears; were this some random guy back in Tokyo, she'd have decked him five words in just to shut him up, but for now, she endured it as she wrote her name on the blackboard... At least, until he began to introduce her.
"Now, I hate wasting my time, but I'd better introduce this transfer student," he said. "This sad sack's been thrown from the big city out to the middle of nowhere like yesterday's garbage, and she's just as much of a loser here as she was there, so you boys better not get your hopes up! Tell 'em your name, kid, and make it quick." That was crossing the line for Yui; though she managed to restrain her fists, a nasty scowl crossed her face as she turned to Morooka.
"...The fuck did you just say about me, beaver-face?" She said, pure venom dripping from her words. It wasn't a casual dismissal like Morooka's tone, but one that indicated that if she weren't holding herself back, her fist would be connecting with his buck teeth right now. The response certainly came as a surprise to everyone in the room, as both the students and Morooka himself looked at her with shock before the teacher's expression contorted into anger.
"What did you just say to me?!" He said, a scowl of equal measure across his face. "That's it, you're on my shit list, effective immediately!" A vein bulged on Morooka's temple, accentuating the redness that was beginning to cover his entire head as the volume of his voice began to rise, the man ranting at her about morality and modern-day vices, to the point that he even turned away from her, making it clear to her that he was no longer shouting at her, but rather just angrily going on in general. Thankfully, a girl's voice from the middle of the classroom spoke up, interrupting the angry ranting.
"Excuse me, sir, but is it okay if the transfer student sits here?" She said. The brown-haired girl motioned to an open seat next to her, and it seemed that this worked as a sufficient distraction for Morooka, as he quickly shooed Yui off to her new seat. The young woman scoffed, but sat down anyways, thankful he'd stopped going on and on.
"He's the worst, huh?" Said the brunette, whispering over to Yui from the seat next to her. "Rotten luck for you to get stuck in this class... Well, we just have to hang in there for a year." Almost as soon as Morooka's lecture died down, Yui could hear the other students whispering, as well, masking what the brunette had said to her. From what she could pick out, about half of it was shocked murmuring about how ballsy Yui was to talk like that to a teacher, let alone Morooka, and the other was lamenting how all of them were stuck with Morooka as a homeroom teacher, as well. Predictably, though, it wasn't long before Morooka called for the class to quiet down, the irritation clear in his voice. Yui couldn't help but sigh quietly; she was going to be stuck in this class for a whole year...? If she could make it through this, she probably would change... Heck, she'd probably reach enlightenment.
April 12, After School, Cloudy
Yui breathed a sigh of relief when Morooka gave the word that the first day of class of the year was over. While she still had the rest of the year to go through, she took how well it had gone – first impressions on Morooka notwithstanding – as a sign that she could make it through the year. As a couple of her new classmates approached her, likely to start asking questions, the school's PA system came to life, and an announcement echoed through the school.
"Attention, all teachers," it said. "Please report immediately to the Faculty Office for a brief staff meeting. All students must return to their classrooms and are not to leave the school until further notice." Morooka scoffed before turning to the class and parroting the part about the students staying to the classrooms. As he left, chatter among the class began to pick up immediately, only to be interrupted by the sirens of emergency vehicles, which one student noted as sounding suspiciously close. Yui herself didn't bother trying to get a look, as she, like some of the others, had noted that it was incredibly foggy outside, and instead busied herself with packing her things away until a second announcement played over the speakers.
"Attention, all students," it said. "There has been an incident inside the school district. Police officers have been dispatched around the School Zone. Please stay calm and contact your parents or guardians as soon as possible, and quickly leave the school grounds. Do not disturb the police officers. Head directly home." The announcer repeated the message a second time, but chatter quickly picked up around the room once again, most of them expressing disbelief that something had actually happened. As Yui herself prepared to leave, she was immediately confronted by the brunette that sat next to her, as well as the black-haired girl who sat in front of her.
"Hey, are you going home by yourself?" She said, speaking in a surprisingly friendly tone. "Why don't you come with us? Oh, I nearly forgot! I'm Chie Satonaka. You know I sit next to you, right?" Yui gave a simple nod, wondering if this Satonaka girl really thought that she might have never bothered to recognize her, especially considering the bright, green athletic jacket she wore over her uniform. Yui's silent acknowledgement didn't seem to put her off any, as she continued, no less deterred than earlier.
"Nice to meet you!" Chie said, before turning slightly to motion towards theh black-haired girl. "This is Yukiko Amagi." Yukiko gave a light bow of her head, showing a sense of politeness and elegance that the girl next to her lacked, in comparison.
"Oh, nice to meet you," Yukiko said. "I'm sorry that this is so sudden..." Yukiko's apology quickly warranted an embarrassed retort, quickly clearing up her intentions of asking Yui some questions. As they began to leave, a brown-haired boy, who Yui recognized as the boy who sat behind her in class, approached them and addressed Chie, holding a DVD case in his hands.
"Uh, umm, Miss Satonaka...?" He said, looking rather despondent. "This was really awesome. Like, the way they moved was just amazing to see... And... I'm really sorry! It was an accident! Please, just have mercy until my next paycheck!" He bowed heavily, offering the case over to Chie, and when she took it, gave a hasty goodbye and attempted to leave, only for Chie to yell at him to stop and kick him between the legs to get him to stop.
"What the?! I can't believe this!" She said, despair heavy in her tone. "It's completely cracked... My 'Trial of the Dragon'…!" The boy whimpered, clutching his crotch in pain, and when Yukiko expressed concern for him, Chie brushed him off, telling her to ignore him. As the other two girls left, Yui noted how much pain he seemed to be in, but felt he kind of deserved it, and decided to leave him be as she followed the other two.
As they got the main gate, however, a rather creepy-looking boy approached them, calling out to Yukiko and asking if she wanted to hang out with him. When she expressed confusion as to who he was, and students nearby showed just as much confusion, Yui prepared herself to step in, but when she denied his invitation, he simply got angry and left. Part of her felt somewhat disappointed that he didn't start something and give her something fun to do, but another was relieved that she wouldn't end up in trouble on her first day in school.
"Wh-What did he want from me...?" Yukiko asked, prompting Chie to explain that he likely wanted a date, while Yui thought to herself that the ravenette seemed more airheaded than she looked. Just then, the boy from earlier approached them with his bicycle, prompting Yui to recognize him as the boy who crashed that morning. When she remembered that incident and the one from just a short while ago, she thought that the poor bastard must have some truly terrible luck. When he rode off and other students started gathering to see what was going on, the three finally left the front gate.
"Oh, so you came here because of your parents' jobs?" Chie said, having finally gotten around to asking Yui her questions as they walked around. "Haha, I thought it was something way more serious. But I bet it really does feel like there's nothing here to a city girl like you, huh?" When Yui nodded in affirmation, Chie scratched her head and lamented that, while that did make it a nice place to live, that didn't give them much to show visitors, briefly musing on whether a few types of crafts from Mt. Yasogami were famous or not.
"Oh, wait, there's the Amagi Inn!" She said. "Yukiko's family runs it. It's the pride of Inaba!" Yui looked to Yukiko, expecting an embarrassed denial out of humility, but while the denial came, there seemed to be a lack of embarrassment. Instead, she looked almost... tired, as though she'd heard the claim hundreds of times before and actually didn't believe it to be true.
"Huh? It's... just an old inn," Yukiko said. Of course, Chie rebuked her, stating that it was apparently in various magazines as a "hidden treasure". Yui briefly wondered what would potentially separate it from other inns to make it a treasure, only for her attention to be drawn back to Chie as she mentioned that Yukiko was going to inherit control of the inn, claiming that it was basically the one thing keeping the town on its feet.
"By the way," Chie said, her tone indicating a sudden change of topic. "You think any of the guys around here are cute, Minamoto? You're a city girl, so I bet your standards are pretty high, but I'm sure our guys have at least some charm to them!" The question and follow-up statements were so out of the blue that Yui just couldn't help but stare at Chie with a flat expression on her face, speaking her disbelief that Chie had just asked that.
"Uh, right, sorry, probably a little too personal, huh?" Chie said, giving an awkward laugh, accompanied by Yukiko giving Yui an apologetic look and shrug of her shoulders. Thankfully, the topic was soon dropped as the trio noticed a crowd at a nearby intersection. A pair of housewives were gossiping, managing to overhear something about a dead body, surprising all three of them. However, before they could ponder further, a familiar voice called out to them, drawing their attention to Dojima approaching them, asking them what they were doing here.
"We were just passing by in all honesty," Yui replied, as the other two seemed too nervous to speak up instantly. Dojima let out a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck, not picking up any dishonesty in his niece's words.
"Should've figured that'd happen..." He said. "That damn principal. We told him not to let them through here..." Chie, who'd been silent until then, turned to Yui, an inquisitive look on her face as she asked if they knew each other.
"He's my uncle, the one I'm staying with for the next year," She said, prompting Dojima to nod in agreement.
"I'm Detective Dojima, her guardian," He said. "Uhh... Well, how should I say this...? I hope you get along with her." Yui could tell he had to hold himself back from telling them to be careful around her, instead opting to go the more indirect route. As nice as he'd been last night, she noted that he probably still didn't fully trust her not to cause trouble.
"But you three really ought to stop wandering around and head straight home," He said, giving Yui a pointed look, making it clear that he meant her, especially. As he turned to leave, another man in a suit suddenly bolted pass, only to throw up in the nearby bushes, prompting Dojima to call out after him angrily. The whole situation seemed to have hit Chie and Yukiko particularly hard, as they mused on the nature of the incident briefly before parting with Yui, planning on heading to Junes another day. Yui herself had decided to heed her uncle's wishes for now, and headed straight home, though partially due to the fact that she had nothing else to do for the rest of the day.
April 12, Evening, Cloudy
"I wonder if Dad's not coming home again, tonight..." Nanako said, sitting at the living room table alone with Yui. It was a sadly-familiar feeling, being alone at home while the "adults" of the house were off at work, but she could hardly blame Dojima for it. After all, he was likely one of the few detectives who could work a case concerning a sudden dead body in such a small town. Once it was all over, he'd be at home more, and Nanako wouldn't be so lonely.
As if to break her thought process, the news jingle played over the TV, drawing her attention to a story that was, coincidentally, about the very same issue, detailing that the one who had died was Mayumi Yamano, and when the Inaba Police Department was mentioned, Nanako gasped in surprise.
"It'll be fine," Yui said, on reflex. In reply, Nanako nodded and stated that she knew, because this sort of thing happened, since it was her dad's job. While she was thinking about how scary it was that the body had apparently been found hanging from a TV antenna on someone's roof, her attention was drawn back to the television when the jingle for Junes played, prompting Nanako to sing along just like the night before, briefly looking at Yui expectantly.
"You like that song, huh?" Yui said. If Nanako was hoping she'd sing along, the girl would be disappointed; she didn't see much point in singing along to a jingle, but her cousin didn't seem perturbed at all.
"Yep!" Nanako said. "It's popular at school too!" As she began to sing the song to herself over and over again, Yui took note of how quickly Nanako had grown comfortable around her, thankful that, so far, the people around her seemed mostly welcoming.
After she finished helping Nanako clean up, Yui went up to her room, deciding to unpack the rest of her things. Some books, music CDs, DVDs, more clothes... Among the effects was her suburitō, the heavy wooden sword having been her weapon of choice for nearly three years since she started her delinquency. It was basically the thing she could trust the most, at the moment, but even so, she wasn't so cheesy as to give it a name. Still, it gave her some relief to unearth the sword from its packaging. She always felt somewhat naked without it around.
Once she finished unpacking, Yui took another good look around the room. Unfamiliar though it was, it seemed somewhat familiar at the same time. The young woman took a few seconds of thought before she realized exactly why it looked so familiar. With her personal effects now decorating the modest shelf and the dresser, the dull and uninspired room struck her as a downsized version of her own back in Tokyo. It was a realization that she couldn't help but laugh at, and as she relaxed, a wave of fatigue suddenly struck her.
As she sat down on her futon, Yui realized just how tense she'd been all day. She'd been expecting her record to leak or someone to call her out, but so far, it had all just been her own nerves. With a sigh, she resolved to relax a little, tomorrow, and undressed before going to sleep.
April 13, Early Morning, Cloudy
The following morning, Yui made sure to keep her cousin's directions in mind, although she soon found that it was rather easy to find her way around compared to Tokyo. Confident she could find her way to school and back with ease, she relaxed her pace somewhat, recalling her decision last night to avoid stressing out about her life. Just as she did so, however, a familiar blur of black, yellow, and brown whizzed past her, only to collide with a utility pole, sending the person in question tumbling into a trash can and get stuck among the garbage.
"S-Someone...!" She heard him call out as he thrashed about, trying to escape. With an annoyed sigh, Yui decided to do the young man a favor before grabbing him by the belt of his pants and the hem of his uniform jacket and yanking him out onto the street. Coughing and sputtering, likely to get something gross out of his mouth, Yui realized it was the same young man from yesterday. Did his bad luck never end?
"Whew, you saved me, thanks..." He said, brushing more trash off of him. "Oh, hey, you're the transfer student! Yui Minamoto, right?" Yui gave a nod before looking over at the boy's bicycle, then back at him.
"You know," She said. "Considering that two of the three times I've seen your ass get kicked in the past two days was courtesy of your bike, you may want to consider getting a new one." The boy gave a shocked expression before laughing nervously and rubbing the back of his neck.
"Ahaha, maybe," He said. "It has been rather squeaky, lately... Oh, my name's Yosuke Hanamura. Nice to meetcha." Walking over to pick his bike up, rather than get on, he started walking, motioning for Yui to follow him. With a shrug, she decided to oblige, since she saw no reason to not chat with him on the way to school.
"You been adjusting to this place, yet?" He said. "Don't worry if you haven't, I went through this once too, you know. I transferred in about six months ago, myself. I'm a city boy, too, so I totally get if you're still trying to get used to all the green." Yosuke gave another, more carefree laugh, smirking when Yui shrugged. Maybe it was his rather carefree attitude, or the fact that he was also a transferee from the city, but she already felt more comfortable talking to him than the other girls.
"S'not so bad," She said. "Definitely a hell of a lot easier to breathe, and I don't have to pack in like a sardine just to go to school." Not that she'd ever gone to school more than a handful of times in the past six months, herself, but judging from Yosuke's eager agreement, he was blissfully unaware of it. The difference between the city and the country ended up being the bulk of their conversation on the way to school, ending when Yosuke parted ways with Yui to use the bathroom before class. Considering Yosuke still seemed to feel somewhat out of place, would she eventually get used to living in Inaba? Her uncertainty grew, and she hoped that there, at least, wouldn't be anything more serious than the strange murder that occurred the day right after her arrival...
April 13, After School, Cloudy
"Hey, you free?" It was Yosuke, chatting Yui up from the desk behind her after the final bell rang. "Of course you are, you just got here." Narrowing her eyes, the violette gave Yosuke a deadpan look before speaking.
"Dude," She said. "If you're hitting on me just because we're both from the city, take it elsewhere." Her accusation, while admittedly only half-serious, consequently flustered Yosuke greatly, causing him to stutter and nearly fall out of his seat. In response, he stood up and rose his voice slightly.
"Th-That's not what I'm doing!" He said. "I just want to do something to thank you for helping me out this morning, okay?!" Yui couldn't help but let out an amused snort and smirk at his reaction. Seeing this, Yosuke realized she'd been messing with him and calmed down. Still, he remained standing, and walked over to one of the now empty desks to Yui's left, leaning against it.
"Anyways, you hear about the local delicacy?" When Yui shook her head, an amused grin crossed his face. "It's grilled steak, man! Like that's anything special, huh? I know a place where you can get it cheap. I'll treat you, whaddaya say?" Overhearing their discussion, another familiar face came walking up, clad in her usual green jacket.
"What about me, huh?" Chie said as she approached. "No apologies? Um, my 'Trial of the Dragon'?" Yosuke gave an exasperated sigh, musing on how she always seemed to show up when he talked about food. Once it was settled that he'd be treating both Yui and Chie, the three left school, eventually ending up at the food court of the local Junes, which prompted an irritated protest from Chie as Yosuke returned with a set of completely different meals for the girls.
"THIS is the cheap place you were talking about?" She said. "They don't have grilled steak here!" Yosuke quickly deflected her anger, as he couldn't afford to treat the both of them.
"Still, that's no reason to take us to your place." Chie replied defiantly.
"Dude, this isn't my place or anything." Yosuke replied. When Yui rose an eyebrow in confusion, he took notice, and quickly explained about how his dad was assigned to manage this Junes when it opened, and his whole family moved out to Inaba as a result. Afterwards, the three began to chat amongst each other, mainly small talk, and when Chie mentioned that a lot of places in the shopping district had been closing due to a lack of business, the mood became heavy when Yosuke protested that it wasn't all Junes's fault. However, Yosuke soon noticed a girl sit nearby, apologizing to the two briefly before walking over to talk to her.
"What, is that Yosuke's girlfriend?" Yui asked, again, only half-seriously. Chie laughed it off, telling Yui that he only wished she was.
"That's Saki Konishi," Chie said. "Her family runs a liquor store in the shopping district. I think she's working here part-time, though." After Yosuke and Saki spoke for a bit, eventually the girl approached Yui and introduced herself, chatting briefly with Yui before heading back off to work. A few more minutes of idle talk between the three passed by, with Chie bringing up an unusual topic.
"You ever hear of the Midnight Channel?" Chie said. Yosuke and Yui exchanged a curious look before turning their attention back to Chie. Taking that as a silent "no", she continued.
"You're supposed to look into a TV that's switched off, alone, exactly at midnight on a rainy night," She said. "While you're staring at your own image, another person will appear on the screen... And they say that person's your soulmate!" The other two exchanged another look, but this time one of awkward disbelief, wondering if Chie actually believed that.
"That's obviously just some urban legend a middle schooler or some shit cooked up," Yui said, rolling her eyes. "You really shouldn't let yourself get duped into believing something so childish, Satonaka." Yui's response prompted Chie to scrunch up her face in frustration, as she realized both Yui and Yosuke were likely looking down on her.
"Childish, huh?" Chie said. "Well, it's supposed to rain tonight! Why don't we all try it out tonight and see just how childish it really is?" Yosuke sighed, scratching his head.
"Try it ou – Wait, so you mean you haven't even tried it out yourself?" He said, though he was quickly followed up by Yui, who spoke listlessly, clearly deciding there was nothing better to do.
"Sure, why not?" She said. When she caught Yosuke's bewildered look, she gave him a shrug before responding. "Look at it this way. We really don't have anything to lose, do we? Besides, don't actually tell me you're worried it might be real." Yosuke stuttered a bit, unable to find an argument, before he resigned both verbally and in his body language. As a result, the topic soon changed, and eventually the three parted ways, heading home.
April 13, Evening, Rain
Once again, it was a silent meal between Yui and Nanako, with Detective Dojima nowhere in sight. When she asked Nanako if her father called, she shook her head, mentioning he always says he will. However, as if it was timed, the front door unlocked and slid open, Dojima walking in. His face was showing the signs of fatigue and stress, making it clear as day that he was being worked ragged.
"I'm back," He said as he practically collapsed on the sofa. "Did anything happen while I was out?" When Nanako replied that nothing had happened, but he was late again, Dojima gave a tired apology before asking Nanako to switch the television channel to the news, which Nanako did so solemnly.
When she did so, it was currently showing more on the murder of Mayumi Yamano, as to be expected. What wasn't expected, however, was an interview with the girl who'd apparently found Yamano's body, which surprised Dojima. As the three watched, Yui could tell it was less of an interview and more of an interrogation, with the girl unsure how to respond to most of the questions. Despite the blur, however, Yui could tell that it seemed to be Saki Konishi, the girl she'd met just earlier today. As the news continued, it eventually became clear that Dojima had fallen asleep. Nanako decided to place a blanket over her father, leaving him to sleep where he was as the two finished eating and cleaned up. Recalling her promise to Chie earlier, Yui decided to take a brief nap, setting her phone to vibrate as an alarm at 15 minutes to midnight.
After waking up, Yui made sure it was definitely still raining before taking a seat on her couch, directly opposite the television. Even as she stared at the black screen of the TV, she wondered why she was doing this. Sure, she told Chie she would, but was that all there was to it? Was she secretly hoping it was true? If so, what did she have to gain from it? As the clock neared midnight, Yui got up and approached the TV almost certain nothing was going to show.
What surprised her next was, as the clock struck midnight, the screen suddenly flickered to life, showing a very hazy, static-filled image that seemed to display a young woman. Then, as if her head was suddenly a radio, a high-pitched noise filled her ears, causing Yui to grasp her head and stagger around, the only thing she could hear over the noise being a strange voice.
"I am thou," It said. "Thou art I. Thou art the one who opens the door..." As Yui fell to her knees, gradually the noise stopped. Taking a few moments to recover, the young woman eventually stood up, using her table as a support. Looking towards the television, she briefly wondered if any of that was real, or if she was dreaming and had never actually woken up. Out of curiosity, she reached towards the screen of her TV, only for her hand to pass right through with no resistance. In shock, Yui stumbled forward, her head quickly joining her hand inside, only for her shoulder to collide with the top edge of the screen, preventing her from falling further in. A brief struggle later, and she managed to pull herself free, causing her to slip back and slam her head into her table.
"Fuck..." She said, muttering to herself. "This definitely isn't a dream, then..." If nothing else, this was going to be an interesting story to tell in the morning...
Author's Notes
First off, I'd like to apologize to those who found this story and realized it hadn't gotten a proper start since I first posted the prologue in late May. Due to a number of issues in real life, I found myself unable to write this story as I wished, and admittedly, by the time those issues had subsided, I had honestly forgotten about it.
However, I recently received a reminder, and after some encouragement, I found the drive to pick this back up once more! So, to everyone who wanted more of this story, I'm here to say that, yes, I will resume writing Persona 4 Veritas, with the full intent of seeing it through to the end!